Press release, 28 March 2014
On 28 March 2014, the Hall of the Act of 11 March of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania hosts an international conference entitled Contribution of Parliaments to NATO Enlargement, which is organised by the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on National Security and Defence to mark the 10th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – the most powerful defence organisation in the world.
The Conference was welcomed by Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, Prof Benediktas Juodka, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Artūras Paulauskas, Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence.
The Speaker of the Seimas noted that the Conference was being held in the same Hall of the Act of 11 March, where the Seimas had ratified the North Atlantic Treaty. “The parliamentarians ratified the Treaty unanimously and for 20 years’ now the Lithuania’s foreign and defence policy has been based on consensus among major political parties, be they in position or opposition. It was the kind of unity that allowed adopting sometimes very difficult decisions and gaining support of the public for Lithuania’s membership of NATO. Tomorrow political parties will once again confirm the continuity of our foreign affairs and defence policy and will draw the principal policy guidelines for the upcoming six years,” Loreta Graužinienė stressed.
|
|
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, “in the last few months European countries, like never before, have realised the importance of being part of NATO, when we are all witnesses of the brutal actions of the Russian Federation aimed at redrawing borders of European countries. As we have underlined in our joint statement by Speakers of Parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and the statement by Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian Speakers, the occupation and annexation of part of the Ukrainian territory by the Russian Federation is the most serious challenge to global security after the end of the Cold War. The painful and tragic experience of European countries in the 20th century commits us to undertaking all possible means to prevent the repetition of the history”.
Chairman Juodka recalled the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, which was one of the key parliamentary dimension events within the framework of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. “Back then, we had a very ardent debate on the dramatic developments in Syria and Egypt, and the Middle East peace process; we also discussed how the EU and NATO could contribute to achieving peace and stability in these countries. We shared our ideas about the problems of Eastern Partnership countries, which were relevant to Lithuania. We expressed our appreciation of the fact that the greater part of Europe had enjoyed over 70 years of peace and that the relations among countries had been based on the rule of law and mutual trust. Unfortunately, we now have to admit we live in a different political and geopolitical reality. We seemed to have sincerely believed that we, our children and grandchildren will never suffer the atrocities of war. Are we absolutely sure about this today? I would not be able to say a firm “Yes”. Right next to us in Europe, we are witnessing the military aggression of one country against another and the impudent violation of international agreements and the principles of the supremacy of international law, which are the basis of life of the international community,” Prof Juodka noted.
The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs noted that Lithuania had particularly sensitively reacted to the events in Ukraine, because they inevitably reminded the Lithuanians of “the painful road towards our liberation from the grip of the Soviet empire that demanded human victims.”
Artūras Paulauskas, Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence, noted that in ten years since Lithuania became a member of NATO, the membership had become so natural that it was even difficult to imagine a situation of not being part of NATO. The Chairman underlined that it would have been wrong to take NATO membership for granted and to consider it as an opportunity to use security guarantees for free. “Before we joined NATO, we had to comply with high membership criteria. We were united and had a clear goal. What we need now is to be even more united and to make every effort to fulfil the NATO membership commitments rather than only be security consumers. Security challenges are very relevant to Lithuania, as it has borders with sometimes not very friendly neighbours from the East. Since 2008, we have been watching very intensive militarisation of the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation. Modern antimissile and antiaircraft defence systems have been deployed in the region. Russia has been very kind in “offering” its defence systems for protecting our air space. Moreover, Russia has made decisions concerning the deployment of tactical ISKANDER missiles, which are exceptionally of offensive nature,” Artūras Paulauskas said.
The Conference Contribution of Parliaments to NATO Enlargement looks at the enlargement in Europe and the potential for NATO enlargement, and the experience of integration and membership, the current situation and future challenges related to a changing international security situation, as well as the role of parliaments in these processes.
Monika Kutkaitytė, Public Relations Unit, tel. +370 5 239 6666, e-mail: [email protected]
